Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using single-crystalline Ag nanowire as tip

We report the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect from the apex of single-crystalline Ag nanowires (NWs). We also fabricated tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) tips by attaching individual Ag NWs to W wires by using the alternating current dielectrophoresis (AC-DEP) method. The single-crystalline Ag NW tips could overcome many of the shortcomings of conventional TERS tips. Most importantly, the results obtained from TERS using single-crystalline metal NWs are very reproducible, and the tips are also reusable. This development represents a significant progress in making TERS a reliable optical characterization technique with nanometer spatial resolution. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.